antepenult

[an-tee-pee-nuhlt, -pi-nuhlt]

noun

1. the third syllable from the end in a word, as te in antepenult.

antepenult

/ ˌæntɪpɪˈnʌlt /

noun

1. the third last syllable in a word

Other Word Forms

• preantepenult adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of antepenult¹

1575–85; < Latin ( syllaba ) antepaenultima the second (syllable) from the last, feminine of antepaenultimus standing before the penult. See ante-, penult

Word History and Origins

Origin of antepenult¹

C16: shortened from Latin ( syllaba ) antepaenultima; see _ante- , _penult

Example Sentences

The accent of Hyperion is properly on the penult, which is long in quantity, but the English poets, with rare exceptions, have thrown it back upon the antepenult.

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Footnote: The Indian names are usually pronounced exactly as spelled, with each syllable distinctly sounded, and the principal accent on the penult, as in Ah-wah´-nee, or the antepenult, as in Yo-sem´-i-te.

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Unfortunately the music of the chorus was moulded on the Italian text, and each verse ended with the accent on the antepenult, which occurs frequently in German and Italian, but never in French.

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But if the syllable still remains short after the enclitic has been added, it is not accented unless the word originally took the accent on the antepenult.

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The accent must fall on the penult, if it was long, otherwise on the antepenult of the word.

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